


And I Know I Could Be More Clever

by Chrysocolla



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Humor, I hope, M/M, Well I try, sometimes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-01-11
Updated: 2013-02-08
Packaged: 2017-11-25 03:48:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/634794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chrysocolla/pseuds/Chrysocolla
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony has to babysit a spoiled foreign freak (his words, not mine). He then decides that the best way to go about it is to corrupt him... unless Loki's already a bit corrupt himself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'll list all the things I want you to know, as usual.  
> 1\. So I guess I have a thing for high school AUs.  
> 2\. I changed my name from Sasha_Ships_Everyone because I realized that it made me sound like a 13 year old girl. xD  
> 3\. If anyone saw that my other work "As You Wish" was deleted, I'm so sorry. I honestly couldn't see it going anywhere. Maybe I'll revive it some time later though, when my long term writer's block is gone.  
> 4\. The title is a line from "Out On the Town" by fun. and it's beautiful and I would marry it if I could.  
> 5\. I've decided that I cannot, for the life of me write a long chapter. So yeah, sorry.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It wasn't Tony's fault. Totally not.

"Now boys, do you know what you were sent to my office for?" Mrs. Grant asked in an incredibly dull voice. She was the school guidance counselor, not that a bunch of high schoolers actually needed one. _Maybe having kids sent to her office made her feel better about herself_ , Tony thought to himself with the tinyest smile. Mrs. Grant raised an eyebrow, still waiting for an answer.

"Nope," Tony replied, though was really lying through his teeth. Out of the corner of his eye, his saw Steve's skin turn a shade pinker than normal.

"Your teacher caught you two in a compromising position, shall we say," Mrs. Grant replied without batting an eye. Steve's blush deepened.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Tony replied, knowing exactly what she was talking about. He just wanted to see if Steve's head could actually explode.

"Well, I'll try to put it in a way you would understand," began Mrs. Grant, "Mr. Selvig caught you two uh, "making out". I believe that's the fancy slang term you teenagers use." No explosions yet, and Tony knew this would be the closest he could get as Steve's head tipped forward and landed with a smack in the palm of his hand. "Now, I understand young love, and this school has no problem with "alternative relationships". But. This school is not the place to display your affection," Mrs. Grant trailed off, mumbling about how "kids these days grow up too fast".

Tony rolled his eyes. There were  _so_  many things wrong with that sentence.

"We're not "in love"," Steve muttered, using finger quotes, just as the guidance counselor had.

"And I'm not "alternative"," Tony snorted, feeling mildly disgusted.

"Or affectionate," Steve added unhelpfully, "It was just one kiss. It won't happen again."

"It was for science!" Tony added cheerfully, and even more unhelpfully.

Mrs. Grant sighed, her bored looking gray eyes analyzing the two boys. "Fine," she finally said, "I'll let it go this time. If, and only if this doesn't happen again. And, I will need you two to do me a favor." Part of Tony had been relieved about getting off easy, but the favor part worried him a just a bit. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"It's not a huge deal," Mrs. Grant reassured the boys, "We just have two new students. They're moving into a house on the street you two live on. I've put them into your classes, and you two now have the jobs to show them around and help them get used to life here in America."

 _Ah, so they're foreign_ , Tony mused. "Would these new students be girls?" Tony asked, ignoring the glare Steve gave him. He was seeing opportunities.

"Unfortunately for you, Mr. Stark, no. They are two boys, named Thor and Loki," Mrs. Grant said with a slight smirk. Tony almost laughed at their names, but he had more to ask.

"Are they twins?" Steve beat him to the question.

"Actually, no. One is adopted. That would be Loki," Mrs. Grant said, checking her files, "Steve you'll be in charge of Thor. Tony you will have Loki. Any trouble they cause will be on your necks, so I suggest you be serious about this. Their parents are ah, very beneficial to the school."

So that was her way of saying the new kids would be rich. Interesting. "So when'll they get here?" Tony fired his next question.

"Well, they're arriving Saturday afternoon. And it's Wednesday, so you've got around three days to get ready and all that jazz."

"That's er, great," Steve said awkwardly, "Can we go now?" Mrs. Grant sighed and waved them away. Thank fucking God. Now, Tony could laugh at her use of the term "all that jazz".

On the way out Tony cornered him. It wasn't simple, considering the three inch height difference. Before Steve could shove him away, Tony blurted out, "Listen, Steve, I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Steve assured him, "But it really won't happen again, right?"

"Maybe," Tony said with a grin, "Or maybe not." He jabbed Steve with his elbow and walked ahead, leaving Steve looking flustered, for possibly the twelfth time today.

Tony spent the next three days wondering how he was supposed to babysit a spoiled, foreign freak.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A wild Loki appears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to get a chapter every Friday. And maybe Tuesdays, on occasion. C:

Of the three days that Tony had to "get ready and all that jazz", exactly none were put to good use.

Day 1:  
Tony spent day one sulking. Steve had been a lying asshole when he had said that things were fine. They were obviously not. And he wasn't being too discreet about it either. It was as if Steve expected Tony to spontaneously molest him or something. Again.

The worst part of it was that it really was Tony's fault. He knew that Steve had every right to feel the way he did. Tony knew that every flinch, every time the blond broke eye contact, he deserved it. But Tony apologized, multiple times, mind you. If Steve didn't want to hear him out, so be it. With his best friend avoiding him and Clint and Natasha out doing what normal, sane people do, Tony resorted to blowing things up with Bruce. With that, his best friend and day one were gone.

Day 2:  
On day two. Tony's parents left. As he read the note for the fourth or fifth time, he started to think that maybe, it was some sort of code. Maybe if he squinted really hard and translated it into a few different languages, Tony could figure out where his parents were, or when they'd come back, for once. But the note stayed the same:

Tony-  
Leaving, important business trip. Stay with the Rogers.

Howard and Maria Stark

Day 3:  
Another day was wasted as Tony hid at home, eating ice cream and watching TV. And also pointedly _not_ staying with the Rogers.

~

Day four was Saturday. Tony woke to the sounds of voices an loud vehicles. "It's a fucking Saturday!" he yelled at the window, "I had plans to sleep until three in the afternoon!" He checked his clock- 9:30. Way too early, by Tony Standard Time. He bundled himself in his sheets and willed himself to go back to sleep. As the traces of sleep started to appear again, a booming laugh came from the house next to his. Tony immediately regretted not closing his window after his little outburst.

And also, when did Mrs. Lucas, the nice old lady next door, acquire the voice of a man? Even with his mind fogged from sleep, Tony was still a genius. Gradually, he pieced things together. Mrs. Lucas moved out a few weeks ago, which meant...

 _Well, shit_ , Tony thought as he fell out of bed.

~

Tony tried to make himself look presentable. He tried, he tried, he tried. Still, from the eyebrow raises he recieved, Tony knew that he probably looked like a homeless person. What made everything worse was the fact that Steve, being the perfect little golden child he was, had shown up bright and early. He was now standing in the driveway, chatting with the new neighbors- a man and his wife, presumably, while Tony glared and twitched a little. The wife, who looked up just in time to see Tony try to slip away, grinned widely and waved him over.

She looked nice enough, and introduced herself as Frigga. She smiled warmly and also introduced her husband as Odin. He looked like a more terrifying version of Santa Claus, and Tony vowed to steer clear of him whenever possible. Frigga was beaming when she said, "Oh! You must meet our sons! They will be attending the same school, and they would love to meet you!"  _How lovely_ , Tony thought to himself.

As if on cue, a boy looking as poster perfect as Steve burst out of the house. He was sporting that ridiculous grin that seemed to run in the family.

Tony couldn't help but to roll his eyes, as the boy ran over to join his perfect looking family. Tony once again tried to escape, but Frigga clutched him by the shoulders, enthusiastically saying, "This is Thor, our older son. Oh but you must meet Loki! Loki!" Frigga yelled back at the house. Tony was scared. How could one person contain so much happiness and pep? Especially a grown woman, come on. She had to be hiding _something_. For now, Tony just waited patiently for another perfect son to appear from the house.

Well, one did appear, though he wasn't what Tony expected at all.

Loki, his name was, trudged toward his parents and brother as if he was stuck in slow motion. He glared at, well, everyone with green eyes that made Tony shudder just a bit. His dark hair stood out, in contrast to his blond family.

Odin rubbed his hands together awkwardly, as no one spoke. Finally, he said, "Well, Frigga and I should go unpack. You boys get to know each other, alright?" With that, he ushered his wife back into the house.

The four teens left just stared. Actually, to be more specific, Tony stared. Steve avoided eye contact, as usual, Thor still had that grin plastered onto his face, and Loki continued to glare. This was truly the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

"Erm, English?" Tony finally asked hesitantly.

And exasperated sigh came from Loki.

"Okay, so yes English," Tony quickly corrected himself.

"Yes, we are fluent!" Thor boomed in a voice that was all to similar to Scary Santa's. He tagged on, "Right, brother?" Loki just rolled his eyes.

"So, yeah, I'm Steve," Tony's friend said, "I've been put in charge of showing you, Thor, around." He offered his hand for Thor to shake, but the new kid pulled him into a bonecrushing hug instead.

"Okay, so I guess I'll have to be social now," Tony grumbled, "Um, hi, Loki. I'm Tony and I'm in charge of you." He also offered his hand for Loki to shake and prayed that the dark-haired boy wouldn't go for a hug.

Loki just scowled. "No one is in charge of me," he hissed before stomping back to his house. His accent, from who knows where just made him seem more terrifying. Thor offered an apologetic smile before chasing his after brother.

"Well, that went well," Tony drawled. He didn't care if Steve couldn't stammer out a response. Maybe Tony Stark just liked to hear the sound of his own voice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHAHAHAAHAHAHA I ACTUALLY WROTE A CHAPTER MORE THAT 1000 WORDS! I am so, ridiculously happy right now, mmkay? Ah, sorry for the insane outburst. But in celebration, I'll have the chapter up on or before Tuesday.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I am obligated to spend time with you."

Maybe he could use the kid as a  ~~slave~~ personal assistant. You know, carry his books for him, buy him lunch, whatever. Tony was seeing possibilities. A sharp know at his door broke into the boy's thoughts.

It was a cold September night, already dark at six; your generic horror movie setting. Parted of Tony wanted to ignore the knocks. He was home alone, and for all he knew, there could be a serial killer standing outside his house. A few more knocks came before Tony decided to just suck it up and answer. After seeing who was standing on his porch, he decided that he would much prefer a serial killer.

His evening visitor was none other than Brooding Beauty himself. He looked fucking intimidating, standing there in jeans and a t-shirt. It was as if the cold didn't affect him at all. And also, "Holy fuck, you're tall," Tony thought out loud. There had to be at least a five inch height difference there. Loki just rolled his eyes.

"May I please come in?" though his words were polite, Loki's voice was flat and bored sounding. It was about as good of an idea as letting a vampire into his house (maybe Loki  _was_ a vampire!), but Tony stepped aside and allowed Loki to enter.

"What the fuck do you want?" Tony, being ever so polite asked, "Here to apologize for this morning?"

"Of course not," Loki scoffed in return, "I am obligated to spend time with you." He stood rigidly at the door.

"Okey dokey, Loki," Tony chuckled at his own little joke, "You know, you can come in a little farther if you want. I won't bite or anything."

Loki took this as his cue to stride into the Stark mansion and conquer the couch. "So what exactly is the point of this again?" Tony asked as Loki made himself comfortable.

"Steve invited Thor over," Loki replied, as if that explained aything at all, "And my mother and father are out of town to attend a banquet of some sort. They will not be home any time soon." The taller boy was staring at Tony, probably judging his every move.  _Two can play at this game_ , Tony thought as he stared right back.

"Aha, so I'm your last resort, aren't I?" he asked with a grin, "Have you eaten yet?"

"I have not," Loki had broken eye contact to inspect some of the Stark family photos. Tony may or may not have felt a tiny bit of relief. That kid scared him. And he was currently situated on his couch, where Tony has done some... not extremely attractive things. Well then. This was interesting.

Trying to appear nonchalant, Tony mocked Loki's accent, "Well, I suppose I could spare a Hot Pocket for you."

Loki scowled at him. "What is that? Is it even edible?" Loki questioned.

Tony laughed, "It's all I got, that's what is." He pulled two out of the freezer and stuck them on to a plate and into the microwave. "So your parents just left you alone with nothing to eat?" he asked as the microwave beeped.

"My mother had taught me to cook long ago," Loki replied with a smirk.

"Now you fucking tell me?" Tony groaned, "I could have had something better than this?" He took the Hot Pockets out of the microwave and promptly scream, "OW THAT'S FUCKING HOT!"

"Who said I would have cooked for you?" Loki grinned wickedly as he walked back towards the couch, "And you keep saying that word."

"Yeah, I say fuck. So what?" Tony shot back, nursing his burned hand. (It didn't matter if it wasn't even a minor burn. It hurt like a bitch.)

"I have never heard it before," Loki turned to look at Tony with wide, innocent eyes, "Would you care to define it for me?"

Tony sighed. This was going to be a long night.

~

Surprisingly, Loki was pretty easy to get along with. At least he wasn't brooding  _all_ the time.

An hour later, Tony and Loki were sitting on the couch, watching television. Or rather, Tony sat on the couch watching television, while Loki was sprawled at a 90 degree angle to him, with his feet in Tony's lap.

Of course, Loki decided to hit a wound that was still fresh, "So where are your parents?"

"I dunno," Tony wasn't exactly lying, "Business trip to somewhere, I guess."

"They let you stay here all be yourself?" Loki asked yet another personal question.

"Yeah," Tony was lying now, but Loki most certainly did not need to know about what happened with Steve. Feeling uneasy, he added, "Hey, could we like, not talk about this particular subject?"

"Yes, I understand," Loki said more quiet. Tony noticed that the paler boy was staring again. In fact, he probably watching TV at all.  _He was probably just staring at me the whole time_ , Tony thought. He wasn't exactly sure how he felt about that. It was kind of  ~~adorable~~ creepy.

"Oh and also, speaking of things  _not_ to do," Tony reclaimed his carefree attitude, "Could you not use me for a footrest?" He pushed Loki's feet out of his lap. _  
_

"Nope," was Loki's cool response. He put his feet back on Tony.

"You know, no one at school is gonna like you if you keep on acting like a spoiled little six year old." Tony pushed the paler boy's feet off yet again.

"I am not a six year old," Loki whined and pouted like one, though, "I am fifteen."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold the phone," Tony cut in, "You're fifteen? That's not old enough to be a senior!"

"So?" Loki shot back, "I am smart enough to be a senior." With a smirk, he added, "And yes, I do suppose I am spoiled. Mother fired all of my servants when we moved to this wretched country, so you will have to do for now." He said this in a calm voice, and Tony wasn't sure if he was serious or not. While he was caught off guard, that little shit put his feet in Tony's lap again. This time, he dug his heels in.

"Yeah sure, okay, Princess," the shorter boy scowled at the mild pain.

Loki practically hissed at the new found nickname, "I resent being called that!" he snapped.

"Whatever you say, Your Majesty," teased Tony in response.

"Ooh, well I do fancy that one," Loki grinned.

~

Another hour passed, and Loki had done a 180 degree turn. His head was now resting in Tony's lap. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but Tony decided that he would much rather be a human pillow than a human footrest. The darker haired boy was also fast asleep.

Briefly, Tony considered taking Loki outside and leaving on the porch. The idea quickly vanished when Tony had a horrifying image of Loki stabbing him to death and setting his corpse on fire. How lovely. With that, he half dragged, half carried the sleeping boy up to the guest bedroom.

He plopped the surprisingly light boy on top of the covers. Tony Stark was not about to tuck someone in.

In the dimly lit room, he could still see Loki's sleeping figure clearly. He looked fucking  ~~adorable~~ eerie.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter either Friday or next Tuesday. :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been long. Sorry. I'm so so so so so sorry.

Tony awoke to find a post-it note stuck on his forehead. It was bright pink (Tony didn't even know that he owned fluorescent pink post-its, but oh well), and the glaring color certainly was not helping his unadjusted eyes. Gingerly, Tony sat up and peeled the note off of his face. It read:

_Good morning, Tony. Rise and shine, as your simple minded people say. Actually, I bet it's already noon, isn't it?  
-Loki_

_  
_Tony checked his alarm clock and found that Loki was right (and gone). That bastard.

It took a hot shower, then a cold shower, but Tony finally woke himself up. He sat in the living room, eating breakfast or lunch, whatever it was. All he had was cereal anyway. Now that his head was clear, Tony finally realized his stupidity from last night.

For all he knew, Loki could have been an axe murderer. And Tony had just let him  _stay in his house all night_. The boy knew he was just being ridiculous now, but then he really couldn't be sure. Out of the smiley happy Odinsons, Loki seemed most likely to commit homicide.

Unfortunately, a voice embedded inside Tony's head told him that Loki was none of that. He had the time to get to know the guy. He knew that Loki had an existent (and somewhat rude) sense of humor, a complex (and somewhat intriguing) personality, and green eyes that occasionally flashed emotions other than annoyance. Tony knew that under Loki's asshole exterior, there was a decent, okay human being. The boy made it his personal mission to bring out this side of Loki and make the kids at school love him.

~

As Tony pulled out of his driveway the next morning, the first thing he noticed was none other than Loki, standing on the curb. He was wrapped in a green jacket, shielding himself against the wind. Judging by the scowl on his face, the dark haired boy would rather be anywhere but there.

Tony eased his car in front of him and rolled down his window. The cool air invaded his car and froze his lungs, but Tony still called out in a cheerful voice, "Hey! What are you doing in direct sunlight? Are you gonna sparkle or something, 'cause I wanna see that!"

If Loki's scowl could get more vicious, that exactly what it did. So much for the "decent, okay human being" Tony had found. "I'm waiting for the bus," the pale boy replied curtly, "Not everyone can drive, you idiot."

"What about your brother? Thor, right? Can't he drive you?"

"He drove off with Steve, his new best friend," Loki rolled his eyes dramatically.

"Such a great brother  _he_ is," Tony said sarcastically, "And I'm guessing your parents have some sort of excuse for not helping you out too."

"They leave early for work," Loki responded with no trace of emotion. Tony was beginning to actually feel sorry for the kid. No one deserved to go through Hell, in the form of an unsanitary, yellow bus.

"I could give you a ride," Tony offered, already unlocking the doors.

To his surprise, Loki wrinkled his nose in distaste, "No thank you."

Honestly, Tony was a bit disappointed. He looked forward to mentoring this young Jedi. Still, the taller boy didn't look like he was about to change his mind, so Tony gave him the most casual shrug he could muster. "Suit youself, then. Have fun putting up with Tyler!" He sped off before Loki could ask any questions.

~

Only a few minutes after Tony drove away, the yellow monstrosity pulled up in place of Stark's shiny car. Loki was almost positive that school buses were of the devil, but on his day of doom, he wanted to sulk with Tony butting in. With a deep breath, Loki entered the bus.

With his experience of moving from school to school to school, Loki found that the best way to cope was just to  _ignore everyone_. And that was exactly what he did. He curled up in the leather seat, plugged in his earphones and shut out the world.

The bus grew progressively louder, as did Loki's music. At some point, he'd moved to the side to allowed some girl to sit next to him. Other than her little ramble about, "Usually I sit here, blah blah blah, I haven't seen you around, are you new, blah blah blah." Other than that, she remained pleasingly silent.  _Until_ , Loki felt a sharp jab in his bicep. Glaring at the girl, he pulled out an earphone. "What?" he snapped.

The girl was unaffected by his unpleasant demeanor, and even gave him an pitying look. Loki decided to hate her then and there. "You know he's talking about you, right?" she asked, her voice cool. Loki was confused for only a minute. Then, he heard that _voice_. It was loud and obnoxious, even worse than Thor or Tony.

"Hey Sif, is that your new girlfriend?" it called out. This had to be Tyler, the one Tony warned him about. He was easily the most annoying person Loki had ever met. Hearing that voice made him want to claw of his own skin. For now, all he did was roll his eyes in disgust.

"So yeah, I'm Sif," the girl offered Loki an small smile, and a hand for him to shake.

Warily, he looked over the girl- Sif. She was pale, with dark hair, much like himself. She had a face that would undoubtedly be classified as pretty, with high cheekbones and a shadow of a smile. Her hazel eyes were likely assessing Loki as he did the same. Finally, Sif smirked in a way that Loki had perfected over the years. His mind was made up. "I'm Loki," he said. The boy didn't normally touch people, but for Sif, he'd make an exception. Loki took her hand and gave it a firm shake.

~

Loki had a problem. He actually liked Sif. No one had  _ever_ grown on him so quickly. Somehow, Loki wasn't repulsed by Sif. On the bus, she juggled conversing with him and deflecting Tyler's annoying remarks perfectly. In a short period of time, Loki started to think of Sif as a  _friend_. That thought jolted him back to reality. It was completely ridiculous. Loki didn't have "friends". Friends were close, and closeness never led to anything good. He wouldn't be making that mistake again. Sif, he decided, was to be an ally.

~

The dark haired boy knelt in front of his locker, unpacking his superfluous amount of books. Quickly, he became aware of people on either side of him. Loki knew exactly who they were: Sif and Tony, but he ignored them. Instead, he focused on the hushed (and seemingly hostile) conversation they were having.

"Tony, I will not let you harass the new kid," Sif was hissing. She tagged on, "I'll bet you've scared at least three away already!"

"I am  _not_ harassing him," Tony pretended to be offended, "I'm being his friend."

"And what kind of "friend" would that be?" was Sif's response.

Well wasn't this an interesting conversation? Loki wanted to just sit back and watch Sif kick Tony's ass (and possibly make him cry), but the rational side of him needed to intervene. "Hello Sif, Tony," Loki said quietly as he stood. Sif gave him a small nod, but her glare remained on Tony.

"Is he bothering you?" she asked.

"Of course not," Tony answered on his behalf, "We're totally friends. You tell the mean lady, Loki."

"We're... acquainted, yes," Loki stuck with the truth.

"Nonsense, we're totally BFFLs," Tony chided. The other two simultaneously rolled their eyes at his use of the term. Tony just wouldn't shut up, and added, "And now I'm gonna introduce you to all your other BFFLs, 'kay?"

He didn't wait for a response, just linked his arm into Loki's and dragged him away. The green eyed boy waved and mouthed _bye_ to Sif. In return, she smirk and mouthed  _good luck_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't say exactly when I'll have the next chapter up, but I'm working on it now.

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback would be appreciated! :)


End file.
